Sigma 70-300 Review (Sigma 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Zoom Lens)

Member Name: welshwizards

Product:	Sigma 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Zoom Lens
Date:	21/02/07 (4712 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap lens and filter, good zoom range.

Disadvantages: Poor build quality, soft wide open, sometimes produces blurry shots, slow F4-F5.6

Sigma 70-300, F4-5.6 Macro Super lens.

I purchased the Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 II Marco Super back a number of years ago as a general purpose, affordable, high power lens to go with my new Canon D300.

I also purchased a filter to go with the lens. (58 filter size required) I would recommend a filter to keep the lens free from scratches and smudges. It may also help to protect the lens if you drop it.

I have produced some cracking macro shots with this lens and also some good high power zoom shots at 300mm. I usually use the lens for birding and taking pictures of insects.

The lens comes with an attachable hood. I use this to block out the sunshine when I take shots.

I find the build quality of this lens to be a little on the cheap side, too much plastic is evident.

The lens is best used in manual mode as it can hunt in low light conditions for focus. On my example, the automatic focus has developed a whine when searching. I have also noticed that at high magnifications quite a lot of the pictures I take appear blurry. Perhaps I should be using a tripod. Also, some of the photographs taken at 300mm can appear very dark indeed.

To sum up the review, it would be a good first, cheap flexible lens for some medium to high power zoom work.
Don't expect every shot to be great. You may have to take quite a few to get one good result.

If your looking for better quality and reliability I would recommend taking a look at one of the Sigma EX models.
Some come with image stabalisation and faster 2.8L focal length. These lenses would be a lot dearer.

I purchased a 20mm F1.8 Sigma EX lens a few years ago, and that is in a different league in terms of quality and performance.

Summary: Cheap and flexible zoom lens for the DSLR beginner... just don't expect miracles!

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